Bruno's fate riding on faith in system

Ex-Senate leader awaits jury verdict in fraud retrial

Updated 10:32 pm, Thursday, May 15, 2014

Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno exits the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) less

Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno exits the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times ... more

Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, center, exits the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) less

Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, center, exits the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. ... more

Former NY State Senator Joseph Bruno with son Ken Bruno exits the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) less

Former NY State Senator Joseph Bruno with son Ken Bruno exits the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. ... more

Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno with son Ken Bruno exits James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) less

Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno with son Ken Bruno exits James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse following closing arguments in his corruption trial Wednesday, May 15, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. ... more

The retrial of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno is in the hands of a federal jury.

The panel of nine women and three men began deliberations around 3:15 p.m. following instructions from U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gary L. Sharpe. They broke for the day after two hours and are scheduled to return at 9 a.m. Friday.

Bruno, 85, a Brunswick Republican who served as the leader of the GOP-controlled Senate from Jan. 1 1995 to June 24, 2008, faces a potential sentence ranging from probation to multiple years in prison if convicted on two counts of honest services fraud.

"I have a lot of faith in the good Lord and the jury system," Bruno said as he left the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse in the rain late Thursday afternoon.

Earlier, the one-time political powerhouse sat and listened as his co-defense attorney, E. Stewart Jones of Troy, delivered an emotional closing argument to jurors in which he blasted the government's case as a "blood lust" he said was eight years in the making.

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At a glance

Highlights of closing arguments:

Bruno's attorneys were not pleased that Chief Judge Gary L. Sharpe read the entire indictment to the jury. Bruno supporters said they believed it was a "third summation" for prosecutors.

Sharpe, who gave Bruno a well-documented tongue-lashing during his first trial in 2009, complimented lawyers on both sides of the case Thursday for a "tremendous job." Then he told Bruno: "Senator, I wish you well."

Under the jury instructions, jurors were told that to convict Bruno they do not have to link any payments to Bruno with any specific act he took or that he promised, but for his influence "as opportunities arose."

In her summation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Coombe quoted a line from a defense witness, lobbyist and Bruno friend James Featherstonhaugh, who said the ex-Senate leader was a "great salesman."

"They don't care about the truth. They want Senator Bruno's scalp. Truth be damned," Jones told the jury in a booming voice.

Federal prosecutors countered that Bruno knowingly received bribes and kickbacks when he was paid $360,000 in consulting fees by Loudonville businessman Jared E. Abbruzzese between 2004 and 2006. The payments were made at a time when Abbruzzese had a stake in Bruno's legislative authority. Prosecutors said the payoffs included Abbruzzese's additional $80,000 purchase from Bruno of a race horse described by government experts as "worthless." The senator received a $40,000 payment for the horse and the remaining $40,000 was forgiven due to a debt with Abbruzzese. The horse, which Abbruzzese later gave away, was insured for $10,000.

A federal jury convicted Bruno on the same charges in December 2009, but the conviction was vacated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling retooled the "honest services" law in an unrelated case. The ruling found the charge of honest services must include proof of a kickback or bribe. Federal prosecutors obtained permission to retry Bruno from a mid-level federal appeals court that determined there was enough evidence to support a second trial under the new standards.

Assistant U.S, Attorney Elizabeth Coombe, who prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, showed the jury a color-coded chart to illustrate details of Bruno's alleged crimes.

Abbruzzese testified that he hired Bruno as a consultant for "stature" to attend dinners and make introductions to important people, such as Donald Trump. But Coombe said most of those activities — including the meeting with Trump — took place in 2006, months after the consulting agreement ended.

"There's no evidence of any consulting work the defendant did," she told the jury, suggesting the real reason for Bruno's payments were aimed at giving Abbruzzese an advantage in his interests in state government matters, including his efforts to win the franchise to operate New York's thoroughbred race tracks.

Abbruzzese also held an eight percent stake in Evident Technologies, a Troy nanotechnology company that was in line to receive $1.5 million in state aid under a commitment Bruno made in September 2002. The funding was expected to arrive in three installments of $500,000. Abbruzzese helped Evident secure the grants in return for his company, Niskayuna Development, being allowed to buy 85,423 shares of Evident stock. The shares were to be purchased in three installments that coincided with the delivery of the state grants.

Coombe said by February 2004, Evident had still not received a $250,000 grant which was the second half of the first $500,000 installment. She said Abbruzzese was frustrated and unsuccessful in getting Bruno to release the money until February 2004, after Abbruzzese took the senator on his private jet on a trip to Palm Beach, Fla., that included pricey restaurant outings and rounds of golf at exclusive clubs.

On the flight back to New York, Bruno suggested he go to work for Abbruzzese as a consultant. Coombe told the jury the offer by Bruno on the jet was "so unexpected that even Jared Abbruzzese said it was inappropriate."

Abbruzzese was not a cooperating government witness. He testified under a court order that granted him testimonial immunity that prevented him from invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

Jones, who is Bruno's co-counsel with Albany attorney William J. Dreyer, told jurors Bruno was "available to do as Jared Abbruzzese saw fit to use him as a consultant."

Jones slammed federal prosecutors for never asking Abbruzzese whether or not he bribed Bruno. And, borrowing a famous line uttered by Jack Nicholson in the film "A Few Good Men," he said the federal government cannot handle the truth.

"They never asked the question," Jones said. "If you don't ask those questions, it's because you don't want to know the answers."

A central part of the government's allegations are that Bruno tried to remove past-New York Racing Association co-chairmen Steve Duncker and Peter Karches because they opposed privatization and arguably stood in the way of Abbruzzese's plan to privatize the operation of horse racing in New York. Jones countered that it was a good plan at the time as he characterized NYRA as a "criminal organization." He also said that Bruno's concern over NYRA in 2005 was fueled by the scandal-scarred racing association's well-documented financial woes — not because Abbruzzese was tied to a group that wanted to replace it.

"Thank God Senator Bruno wanted horse-racing to continue in the state of New York," Jones said. "Senator Bruno wanted Saratoga to survive."